Background: My parents both had terrible acne, especially my father. Unfortunately this was passed on to me and I have had acne from the age of 11 to 22. I finished a 3rd course of accutane last year and I can safely say I a 99% acne free.
Relatively speaking, my skin came out fairly fine with a few exceptions. During my 2nd course of accutane I developed some shallow "ice pick" scarring on my cheeks and temples. My dermatologist told me this was common so I accepted it for what it's worth. I also have some bumps around my chin and a decent sized one that came from a big pimple I had that did not fully pop (about 6 years ago). Most people dont notice the scarring, especially when have a bit of stubble on and the lighting is normal.
I have heard that subcision and laser treatment are the best. However, my insurance does not cover that and I don't have enough money for it. I heard derma-rolling works in conjuctions with retin-a but i have no idea what type of derma-roller to get. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
In the pictures below I'll show you what the scarring looks like.
i think i have sort of same scarring as yours look at my topic http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/329126-what-treatment-do-i-need-to-improve-my-scars-pics-included/#entry3350010
Yeah, yours seem to me more numerous but smaller.
Hiya!
I don't see your ice pick scars in these pics. Maybe I'm blind. I see boxcar and rolling scars, which are much easier to treat. Ice pick scars probably look the "nicest" out of all the scarring as although deep, their diameter is small so it makes them harder to notice.
I personally don't have ice pick scars so I'm sad to say that I can't comment on the effectiveness of the Dermaroller for these. Rolling and boxcar scars are what I suffer with and the Dermaroller has made these so shallow that I consider myself a new person!
I know money is an issue for all of us but I strongly recommend getting professional Dermaroller treatments done over any kind of home treatment. There are some who have bad success treating themselves but I personally only trust the device in skilled hands, and that's certainly not mine!
Subcision may be another excellent option for you and may be cheaper than Dermarolling. If you can I would book free consultations with as many doctors that offer them. Get some expert advice and then go for it! Looking at how deep your rolling scars appear to be I would give laser treatments a miss until you bring them to the surface more with other techniques.
Above all, know that you are not ugly. Nobody is physically ugly. Personalities on the other hand...
Scalpel excision done (correctly) by a plastic surgeon, not dermatologist, seems to be one of the few real options for icepicks. Unfortunately i don't know about prices, but it seems to be cheaper than lasers, which by the way are NOT for icepicks
However, i agree with Fox; i also can't see icepicks in your pictures, but even with rolling/boxcar scars i'd never recommend lasers unless they are EXTREMELY shallow.